Conventionally, female contacts mounted inside the cavities of connector housings are known to have lances that engage with the inside walls of the cavities. The contacts described in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184 and Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629, are universally known as examples of such female contacts. The connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184 is shown as one example in FIG. 6. This connector 200 has a housing 202 that has a cavity 204, and a socket contact 210 which is disposed inside the cavity 204. The socket contact 210 has on its front part a contact section 206 that accommodates a mating pin contact (not shown in the figures) and has an electrical wire connection section 212 that is connected to a cable 208. A lance 214 is formed between the contact section 206 and the electrical wire connection section 212 and this lance 214 engages with a recessed groove 216 in the housing 202, so that the socket contact 210 is anchored inside the housing. The lance 214 is separated in the axial direction from the contact section 206.
Similarly, in a relay connector disclosed in the latter Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629, the contact section and lance of the contact are disposed so that they are separated in the axial direction of the contact.
In the connector 200 disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184, the positions of the contact section 206 and lance 214 are separated in the axial direction thus increasing the dimensions of the socket contact 210 and the size of the housing 202. The same problem exists with the relay connector disclosed in the latter Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629.